


Holding Their Emotions Close

by abirdwhowritesthings



Category: Arc the Lad
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-01
Updated: 2017-09-01
Packaged: 2018-12-22 17:11:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11971893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/abirdwhowritesthings/pseuds/abirdwhowritesthings
Summary: Gruga and Shante meet and quickly develop a relationship based on mutual need.





	Holding Their Emotions Close

**Holding Their Emotions Close**

 

Gruga didn’t know he needed someone until he met Shante. 

Having washed up onto the shore like a Siren out of her element, she’d come into his life with surprising swiftness. At first, he’d thought her dead, owing to her slight form unmoving upon the sand of Clenia’s beach. Seaweed clung to her dress and hair, and even as Gruga turned her over to check for a pulse, she didn’t respond. But she was without a doubt still breathing. Not knowing who she was or where she had come from, Gruga had carried her to the Inn to recover.

Later, despite being a total stranger, Shante had managed to slip past Gruga’s stoic defenses and make him feel comfortable opening up to her. Perhaps it was because she had nothing to offer except her gratitude and warmth that he felt he could trust her. He’d ended up telling her all about his past and his present, his motivation for winning the tournament and his paternal feelings toward Elena. What he couldn’t - and didn’t dare - tell Shante, was that it had been too long since he’d had a woman in his life, and her beauty pulled the strings of his heart in all the right ways. 

Even when Elena was kidnapped, Shante bravely faced the danger with him to get her back. She supported him through his difficult decisions and seemed to genuinely value his company. Lone wolf though he could be, Gruga appreciated her sincerity and her resolve to stand by him.

On the boat departing Clenia Isle, Gruga didn’t feel like talking anymore, but Shante’s unwavering compassion didn’t falter. Her blue eyes searched the depths of his soul and in an instant she undertood everything he needed.  Maybe she, who had lost a brother to the same group that had threatened Elena, needed the same kind of companionship and closeness without words. She came to him, radiating warmth and affection as she fell into his embrace. Her body was so slender Gruga worried that she would break if he held her too tightly, yet those fragile arms gripped him with surprising strength. Their mouths found each other; he tasted hesitantly at first, then with greater confidence when Shante parted her sweet lips to permit his tongue. Unaware of the passing of time, Gruga kissed her, needing everything she was providing to him. 

When Gruga lay back upon the bed, Shante still in his arms, she broke the kiss and her eyes met his once more. She was silently asking him a question, and his smile was the answer. He was still tired from fighting in the tournament, and it was late, and he had little energy to do much other than sleep. Although their cabin in the ship had two beds, Shante showed no desire to go to her own and instead lay happily in his arms, her gentle hands stroking where they rested upon his chest and bicep. The caress relaxed Gruga, who thought he’d have a restless sleep due to his concerns about their journey and about Elena’s future, but ended up sleeping like a child throughout the night.

Looking back now, Gruga wondered if she’d really felt the same as he did, or if the two of them had simply been in the right place at the right time. He had no way of knowing, and couldn’t begrudge Shante her desire to find her own way in life once it came time for them to part ways. Still, Shante’s departure left a hole in his heart that he was certain no other woman could fill. After the Great Disaster she’d left his life just as quickly as she’d entered it, but the memory of her touch and taste remained a Siren’s song calling out to him.


End file.
